The Others
by Otokage
Summary: So, you all thought Max and the Flock were all there were, right? Well, so did they. But now, a new group of experiments have shown up. Of all shapes and sizes... Characters used from NTAF MR RPG.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I'm going to be writing a new Fanfic. My last one sucked, yes I know, but give me another chance folks! I actually got a book published last fall! So yeah, now im writing fanfics. I go on this great site called Naruto the Abridged Forum. Its for MasakoX's and Vegeta3896's Naruto the Abridge Series. They're both really great voice actors. Anyway, we have an MR RPG on there, and so, with the creators permission, I'm sticking the RP guys in here! Read and Enjoy my friends! And thanks to my good friend Zoids GF for helping me write this! You're the best man! Half of the credit goes to him!

**I do not own Max Ride. I do however, own everybody else that shows up in this Fanfic.**

* * *

CHAPTER ONE 

The Flock is Back

* * *

I spread my wings out, feeling the breeze blowing through my hair. Man was it great to fly. No worries, no problems, just absolute freedom... 

Unless you count being chased by Itex and hundreds of Erasers. Then yeah, you might have a few problems. That might put a clinker on anybody's day. Or life for that matter.

Being an avian/human hybrid sucked, honestly. I had enough danger, enough excitement, enough EVERYTHING for one lifetime. Now, I just wanted curl up in a hammoc, with a good book in my hands. Someplace warm. But, things never go as planned. Especially with our lives.

As you've probably gathered, I'm Max, aged 16, my 2nd in command, Fang, is also 16. Then there's Iggy, also 16 (and blind), Nudge, 13, the Gasman (or Gazzy), 10, and Angel, 8. Hold on to your seats because here's something you won't have worked out; We have wings, yep, that's right WINGS. 98 human, 2 avian (or bird to those who don't know).

We were "brought up" (ahem, made) in a place called the School in California. But a white coat, Jeb, helped us escape and we lived free until 2 years ago when the school took my Angel. But we fought, kicked some eraser and white coat butt and got her back. They've been chasing us ever since and now 2 years later we're still on the run.

...what? Never heard of us? Well, you've had to. There's a book out on us. 'Maximum Ride' ? At least tell me you've heard of it. If not, stop what your doing, and get to the bookstore. NOW.

And if you have heard of us, kudos.

Anyway back to the story…

I looked back at Iggy and the Gasman, who were chatting quietly, and kept giving me and Fang side glances. Hopefully it was nothing.

I was PRAYING it was nothing.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I heard a voice above me say. I looked up, and saw Fang flying over me, his black wings casting a dark shadow on my own.

"I dunno. Probably another prank of theirs." I responded, suddenly feeling a headache. Not a chip induced, or Eraser induced. Just a normal, stress related headache.

What a nice change of pace.

"Max, when are we going to take a break. Total's getting fussy." I heard Angel complain, from behind us.

"I am not! I just need to use the hydrant!" Total retorted, squirming in her arms.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. This headache just had to keep getting bigger and bigger, didn't it?

"Alright, alright. Give it another thirty minutes, then we'll land. Keep your eyes peeled for a forest." I called to them, beginning to flap my wings faster. My Flock cut through a cloud, and I glanced up at Fang. He seemed... tense...

"You alright?" I asked, trying not to sound like I cared. He was my best friend, but I always had to act strong around everybody. Good ol' General Max. Keep those shoes spit and polished. A-TEN-SHUN!

Fang nodded, but kept his mouth strained a little. That was his problem. The only one who acted tougher than me around here was Fang. Always bottled up, never complaining, never anything.

We made quite a team, doncha think?

"Hey Max! Look, a forest! Look how big it is! And all the trees! Oh, look at the redwoods! And the-" I head Nudge say excitedly, pointing at the large blurb of green up ahead.

"Alright you guys, stack formation. We're going in for landing." I yelled to the rest of them. The nodded, and we flew obove one another, heading for the woods.

Still... I had a bad feeling about it...


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

So who are these guys?

* * *

"Are we there yet?" asked a hyper active feline experiment that seemed to be the age is 6. He lay slumped on a sofa, looking out the window of a vehicle, watching the trees roll on by. One of his black cat ears was folded lazily over one of his dark eyes, the other gazing longingly at the outside. 

"No, Storm." said an annoyed goshhawk experiment who seemed to be seventeen.

"...Are we there yet?"

"No."

"...Now?"

"No!" Hawkeye shouted, looking back at Storm. One of his red eyes began comically twitching as the avian's talon-like hands gripped the steering wheel.

"Keep it down over there, bird-brain! I'm trying to sleep!" shouted a wolf experiment laying on the couch. His grey wolf ears twitched in annoyance as he squeezed his steel colored eyes shut tighter.

"What was the point of stealing this RV if we dont get much sleep in it, Aron?" asked a female fox experiment who was sitting at a table with another young experiment. The fox's red tail swished back and forth, as though she'd rather be running than sitting still. She was drumming her fingers on a small table of the RV, which the other experiment lay slumped on, staring at the other wall with dull green eyes, her wet looking blond hair pulled back messily with a ponytail. It was clear she was bored out of her mind.

"How does a 15 year old steal an RV in the first place?" asked a feline experiment from the back of the RV who was feeding her baby daughter, holding the little bundle to her bosom. The baby finished and yawned, her brown wolf tail wagging happily as she stared up at her mother with wide silver eyes. The feline hybrid covered herself back up before cradling the baby, her brown cat tail swaying behind her.

The wolf tuned onto his side burying his face in the pillows of the couch, and his his tail curled around one of his legs. He ruffled his dark brown hair up, it was getting straight again. Messy was more of his style anyway. Why couldn't he have silver hair, like his fur? Who the hell designs a grey wolf experiment with grey fur and brown hair, anyway. Heck, they followed that rule with Storm and Kata. Short Black fur, short black hair. Short brown fur, somewhat short brown hair.

Bushy grey fur, cropped brown hair?

Not so much.

Maybe it worked better for cats then it did for wolves.

Who knows?

Across from Aron were two raven experiments talking about dark stuff. Aron was able to hear words like 'slaughter', 'blood', and 'death'. They looked... eerily similar, both with long black hair and dark eyes, with their equally black wings folded up behind them. Theirs were much smaller though than Hawkeye's tawny ones. Close by in the RV there was a young girl torturing another young man with talk about babies and how much he loved her. Aron was desperately trying to drown out all the sounds to get some sleep.

_Alright pause it there. You must be wondering who we are. Well we are a group of Rouge experiments who escaped from the School not to long ago. Im Aron, Aron Fang. Im a lupine human hybrid, age 15. And for those of you who can't pass their Bio classes, 'lupine' means wolf, folks. See! You do learn something new everyday!  
_

_  
The cat in the back is Kata, 16 and and that little baby there was my daughter Ceara. No, Kata and I didnt go all the way. The School took 'samples' from me and injected them into her. Kata and I are going out. We've have been... for almost a year now, I think. I love her, she loves me. And the canine/feline hate thing doesn't seem to apply to us. And isn't Ceara just the cutest! She takes after her mother, but has my tail, ears, and eyes. Score one for daddy!  
_

_  
Ahem, anyway the other cat is Storm, he is 6. He's kinda... my adopted son. But I don't let him know that. I'm a lone wolf after all. Who he was bugging was my older cousin, Hawkeye. He's the oldest and to be honest, I think he is the leader of our group. Or at least he tries to be. Dont get me wrong, he only tries because he cares for the rest of us. I know he's my cousin, but he's more like my big brother. Plus, he's Ceara's godfather. He's the only blood family I have, since his father and my mother are siblings, so I'm pretty close to him. I would follow him to Iraq and back. Oh! Look at that. I am such the poet.  
_

Ok. Back on track. Hehe... more poetry humor. Anyway, the fox experiment is Mary, same age as Hawk but a few months younger and she is Hawk's girlfriend... I guess. Sitting with her was Willow, who is 7... and also my adopted daughter. Yes, she is a fish hybrid. You make any comments about me having a fish and cat for kids, I claw your eyes out, you hear? Neither of them know, honestly, but I'd go to hell and back to get them back if they were ever taken. And the same thing goes for my Ceara. I could never live without them.

_  
The two raven avians are Sonata and Requiem. Sonata is Hawks half sister and... yeah… I dont like getting into their conversations. Her and Hawk share the same mother, but I 'm not related to her in any way. Thank god. _

_  
Requiem... I dunno actually. He's kinda like a male version of Sonata. Just as creepy, just as deadly, and as talkative as a brick wall. If I remember correctly his first words to me were, 'Touch me again, and I'll drown you in your own blood.'  
__  
Yeah, like I said. Creepy. Don't know his background Story, honestly.  
__  
The last two are Spore with Freedom. I think they are a perfect match but Free denies it. Spore is a butterfly experiment and Freedom is a normal human, sorta. School injected these wierd bio cell thingies into him when he was a kid. Don't know the full story. He's like... part machine I think...  
__  
Ok so thats enough of the intro. We are all on the run from the School and trying to live free lives. Trying to love, live, and fight Eraser rear. Trust me, I doubt there's anyone who hates those guys more than me. I have my reasons... but honestly, what kinda excuse for wolves are they? They make me sick. We all hate them, but I have... a certain loathing for them. And thats pretty much all you need to know... No, seriously. That's all I'm telling you. Just... keep reading...  
_

"Are we there yet?"

"Yes Storm."

"...Really?"

"NO, NOT REALLY!!"

A pillow was tossed as it hit Hawkeye in the back of the head.

"I thought I said to keep it down!" Aron shouted, baring his trademark fangs.

"Tell Storm just to be quiet! I hate driving through these woods. I feel all... jittery..." Hawk mumbled, as he resumed driving. Aron sighed and sat up, his chance to sleep ruined.

"Cub, just... I dunno stare out the window." Aron said, yawning. The neko pouted, his ear lifting up a ittle over his eyes.

"But I'm bored!" he said.

"We're all bored Storm. Aron's bored, I'M bored. Deal with it!" Willow told him, laying her head down on her arms.

"_She is brutal..._" came a voice in Aron's head.

_"Tell me about it. Lets hope Ceara doesn't turn out like her..." _Aron thought back, grinning at Kata. Having a girlfriend with telepathy was pretty cool sometimes.

"Tree... tree... tree... tr-"

"Look at something else, Storm!" Willow shouted at him.

"Line... line... line..." the neko said duly, looking at the road. Willow silently smacked herself in the head.

Something changed in Storm's demeanor, as his body stiffened and his eyes narrowed.

"Hawkeye... we're going to be ambushed by Erasers in another eighteen seconds. They've already closed the road behind us awhile back." Storm hissed, the fur on his tail bristling. Aron smiled silently to himself. Storm could sometimes see a little bit into the future. Nothing big, just a few seconds. But thats all they needed to give them an edge...

"Hang on everybody!" Hawkeye shouted to them, pulling the RV to a screeching stop. Tha avian leaped to his feet, and threw the door open to the RV. Freedom, Aron, and the two raven experiments swiftly followed him.

The Erasers had just made their day...


	3. Chapter 3

Ugh, should I even bother continuing to write this? Its been forever, and its only 3 chapters. Nobody reads three chapter stories, do they? And its been so long. Well, my Naruto fanfic, Dark Side of the Moon, has been moderately sucessful, so Ill try one more time for this one. Can't hurt, right? Hope you folks enjoy it. ^^ And please Read and Review!

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Chapter 3

Trackers

* * *

"Right, you have your orders," a Eraser barked. He rolled his shoulders under his black coat. Another Eraser was driving, and twelve more crouched the back of the van. "We go in, we grab the mutants, we clear out. Like surgery, right?"

"Right." Several Erasers muttered.

"Our orders are to take the mutants alive." the head Eraser spoke up again. "But they never said what condition they had to-"

"The experiments are to arrive unharmed in perfect condition." a voice suddenly spoke up. The head Eraser glared at the voice. It came from a figure in the very back of the van, who wore a strange white armor, that completely encased its body left no individually distinguishing marking. It looked almost cybernetic. A white helmet adorned its head, on which a black visor shielded its face from view.

"These are the new orders..." another figure said, sitting across from the first.

The head Eraser gritted his teeth. The Schools had demanded that these freaks be allowed to join the squad for the mission.

And they were in charge... great....

"Boss, the RV just stopped!" the Eraser said who was driving . The head Eraser's head turned around again.

"Alright! Everyone get out! And nobody touch the freaks, just capture them!" he shouted, as the Erasers threw the van doors open.

It was okay... there could always be... 'accidents'...

* * *

I landed on a branch, stretching out my wings. Man did it feel good...

"So what is our plan?" Fang asked, landing besides me.

Right. Game plan.

For the first time in my life... I had nothing... Sign of the apocolypse, right?

_Head East through the woods. There are some people who need help._

I rolled my eyes. There was that stupid Voice again.

_"Yeah? Well people are always in need of help. Particularly us. For instance, if you had told us where we could get some food, a nice shower... maybe a massage, that would be helpful!" _I though sarcastically to the Voice.

The Voice NEVER displayed emotion, so I was shocked to hear the tense patience I heard.

_Max, you need to take this seriously and stop being such a selfish child. If it was just your life, no-one would care if you bothered. But there are others out there. And right now, they need your help._

You know, for once in my freakish life, I wished something normal would happen to me. But NOOOOOO. Lets all be cloak and dagger around Max, shall we?

"We're heading east you guys..." I called to the Flock.

"Why?" Angel asked, from a branch above me.

"Do we need a reason?" I asked, pushing myself off the branch.

"I guess not..." came her quiet reply.

The six of us dived into the trees, effortlessly slipping among branches and trunks. We'd practice moves like this hundreds of times, and it was exhilarating, like playing a video game.

Only... real-life... ish...

_You need to move faster. There isn't much time._

"Everyone! Pick up the pace!" I shouted to them. ANd put on a burst of speed.

Iggy and Gazzy flew in tandem, with Iggy being able to mimic Gazzy's moves within milliseconds. Angel was a blur of white through the green and brown of the forest. I knew that Angel had passed Total to Fang, so I hoped that didnt cramp his style to much.

_Get it together Maximum. You need to react faster._

I flipped through the trees, slipping between them. Only avians could enjoy such a thrill rush of speed. I landed on the branch, grimacing as I saw a crowd of Erasers swarming on a van or RV. Of course, of ALL places the Voice told us to go, it HAD to be one with Erasers.

Still, I couldn't help but appreciate the carnage that lay beore us. Whoever these people were, they had style... and could fight back...

* * *

"You jerks give us wolves a bad name!" Aron shouted, doing a roundhouse kick before clawing an Eraser in the face. He grunted as another Eraser elbowed him in the spine, but followed up and through the second Eraser into the first. He panted, taking a few steps behind so that he was back to back with Hawkeye.

"Alright... I got nine... you?" Aron asked. Hawkeye lashed out with his talons, his folded wings pressing up against Aron's back.

"Fourteen..." Hawkeye said, spitting out a globule of blood. Aron swore under his breathe, and looked up just in time to see an Eraser get impaled by what seemed to be its own blood. His eye twitched as some of the blood got on him.

"Sonata, give me a break here!" Aron shouted to the raven experiment, as she gruesomely ripped the jaw off of an Eraser. She stretched out of hand, and the blood connected and rolled off of Aron's body like quicksilver, across the ground, and into her palm. She thrust it out, and it scattered like bullets, striking down another Eraser. Aron grunted as he and Hawkeye tackled an Eraser together.

"Could've sworn this is a new brand..." Aron told his cousin. Hawkeye made a fist with his three talons and punched the Eraser in the face.

"Nah, Schools are probably just giving them extra vitamins in their doggy chow..." the avian said. He flapped his wings a blew back a Eraser with a strong wind, that shook that trees.

_Hey, me again. Yeah, I keep interjecting a lot here. For those of you going WTF out there, let me bring you up to speed. When the not-so-educational Schools screwed around with our DNA, we got powers! That's right! We're like, the freaking X-men or something! X-teens? X-vigilantes? Meh, point is we can do some awesome stuff. Like Sonata, she can manipulate blood. Hawkeye can control wind, and Requiem can shock dudes with like a bajillion volts so they go BZZZZZT and... heh... well... the avians kind of got the good powers in my group. Except Mary. Girl can fling frigging fireballs. Me on the other, well I can- WOAH! WATCH OUT HAWKEYE!_

Hawkeye fell to the ground as an Eraser clubbed him over the head with a heavy branch. Aron wasted no time in sinking his fangs into the Eraser's neck, who life ended in a gurgling scream. His teeth now red from the blood, Aron ripped them out of the corpse's neck, and surveyed the scene. Hawkeye was down for the count. Sonata was holding three Erasers off by herself, he didn't even want to look at Requiem dicing an Eraser to pieces with his wire, and Freedom... yeah, he was down as well. Idiot fell from a punch. That left eight Erasers currently not engaged, and three of them. And wait... who were... who were those two trying to get into the RV?

He ducked a punch, and returned his own, just in time to hear someone scream. A baby's crying followed shortly thereafter.

"Kata!" Aron shouted, rushing towards the RV. He threw the door open only to get knocked back from a punch, and fall to the ground. Stars and bursts of color exploded in his vision as he saw two figures wearing cybernetic armor step out of the RV. Slung over their backs encased in netting were Willow and Storm, who were struggling to escape. Storm was trying to bit through the metal netting with his teeth.

"Let me go you stupid Tracker! Or Aron will kick your ass!" Willow screamed at the armored figure, trying to hit it over the head with her small fists. The Tracker stared at Aron on the ground, still dazed.

"It seems #55 is still collecting his wits." one of the Trackers said. It clenched its fist, and a blade appeared from the back of its armored glove.

_Holy Christ, today is not my day. Trackers! And here, of all places! One, I could handle. Two, I'm fucking screwed. In the same way the Erasers are the bulk of the School's army, Trackers were the elite forces. Special Ops, assassinations, and tracking down loose experiments. They are few in number, but the general rule of thumb is, no matter how many there are, you run. You just get away as fast as you can. They have this weird armor, filled with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos and tricks. Trained for combat in all manner of ways, and a computer is built into their helmets. But even if they didn't have all of this, I'd still be terrified. Why I'm really afraid of them is what the School did to them. Trackers have no emotions, and no sense of pain..._

Aron rolled to one side as the Tracker side to skewer him. He gave a kick at the Tracker's ankles, trully the ONLY weak point in a Tracker (there were no weak points), but the Tracker grabbed his foot in mid-kick. With barely any effort, it flung Aron into a tree, and proceeded back towards its van.

"A little help here!" Storm shouted, trying to claw at the netting now.

"Little busy!" Requiem said, almost lazily, blocking a stream of bullets with his wire. Sonata came to his aid, drowning the Eraser in a wave of blood, before directing that wave to the Trackers. It washed over them harmlessly, as if they were protected by a bubble.

_I forgot to mention the energy shields they have, didn't I? Whoops..._

"Trackers!" Aron shouted, getting to his feet. He wiped blood off the corner of his mouth. "I choose to initiate Order 5-3-8-Foxtrot-Epsilon..." Aron shouted. The Trackers froze in their tracks.

"Very well, #55. Order 538FE received." one of the Trackers said. They dropped their squirming packs simultaneously, and ran at Aron in a synchronized formation. Aron dropped to the ground, aiming a kick towards their ankles, only to receive a kick to his face. A Tracker almost stabbed him with the wrist blade, but Aron rolled out of the way.

_Another weakness of Trackers is their ability to unquestionably obey orders. Order 538FE is a request to single combat. Please, don't ask me how I know this, that's a story for another day. MY problem was that both Trackers received the order. So yeah, I'm essentially screwed at this poi-_

Aron's train of thought was abruptly halted as the Tracker's armored fist met his lower jaw, most likely breaking it. With a scream, he snapped it back into place, causing his mind to explode in pain. Okay, bad idea. He should've waited till after the fight. He blocked a kick with his elbow, and looked behind the Trackers. He was glad to see that Sonata and Requiem had freed Storm and Willow.

"_Get to the RV... get out..._" he urged them with his mind. If anything, Kata could hear him and relay the message to the others. He managed to land a punch in a Tracker's stomach, causing it to double over. But he froze as a blade pressed against his throat.

"#55, you have been defeated. Our orders are to take you alive. But Order 538FE designates we must kill you on spot." the Tracker said. Aron breathed a sigh of relief. It was a paradox; two conflicting orders. It would buy him and the others at least a minute while the Trackers tried to contact the School's for new orders.

It was the longest minute of Aron's life. He watched as Sonata and Requiem made their way to the RV, with Storm and Willow, who were struggling.

"We have to help him!" Willow screamed, trying to break free of Requiem. The raven didn't say anything.

"He wants the two of you to be safe..." Sonata said, with her brother and a struggling Storm over her shoulders.

"He would want us to help him!" Storm protested. He sunk his tiny fangs into Sonata's shoulder. "Let go!"

He glanced at the window of the RV, and saw Kata there, with tears streaming down her face. She was cradling Ceara in her arms.

"_I love you..."_ he heard her say in his mind.

"_I love you too..."_ he thought back to her.

A moment later, the RV pulled away down the road. And the Tracker's finished their call.

"While you are necessary to Project Moondance, Project Eden will be suffice to replace you. And as a result of your lack of cooperation with Itex and resulted in the loss of three facilities, numerous scientists and loyal experiments, as well as causing us to fail our mission, Itex has order your immediete execution..." the Tracker said. The other one forced Aron down to his knees.

"Yeah, yeah... same old story, isn't it?" Aron said, glancing up at them. He spat on its visor, and then he lowered his head. The Trackers pull back to impale him through the skull, but Aron lashed out with his foot, snapping the Tracker's knee. Aron's head was smashed backwards, against a stone, from the Tracker's foot.

"You are to troulbeso-" the Tracker said, before its neck snapped from a strong pair of hands. The last thing Aron remembered before the darkness took him was an brown-haired angel standing over him. And a bunch of smaller angels kicking the shit out of the other Tracker.

_"I am so dead..."_ he thought, before he fell uncoscious.

* * *

Well, Im probably gonna write another chapter over the weekend so you peeps can start having a decent story to read. I don't know if anyone reads this, but I have an urge to write MR again. Meh. Aron and Tsunako were my first, so I can't jsut abondon one for the sake of the other. Please Read and Review! I need opinions! XD


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey, yeah, Im gonna toy with this a little more. Feeling nostalgic and whatnot. In any event, my firneds have started a new Maximum Ride RPG on one of our sites. The we__site is .?showforum=18 . Now please remember, this is a new site, and we're still tinkering with the back ground and all. So bear with us. We hope you'll join and have fun with us, writing about your own characters. So come in and join in the Flock's and the Other's world._

_And now, for my new chapter! Enjoy!_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Angels**_

* * *

_"_Alright..." Fang asked. "What do we do with him?"

I looked down at the experiment laying against a tree. The Flock and I had dragged his sorry butt off the road and back into the woods.

"I have no idea..." I admitted, folding my wings. Gazzy was feeling the boy's ears between his fingers.

"They're really soft." he told Iggy. "Here, feel them."

Iggy rubbed the boy's ears, a smile breaking out across his face.

"Heh, they actually are real..."

"Oh oh! Let me feel!" Nudge said excitedly, going over to him. Fang sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"This guy stinks like an Eraser." he told me.

"Maybe that's cause he is part wolf?" I said, partially unsure. I mean, yeah, he did reek of Erasers. But maybe that was because of the wolf DNA in both of them. This guy seemed more modified, more streamlined though. He was like us; a Frankenstein of human and animal DNA. Besides, when did Erasers have tails?

Although, I couldn't help but keep second guessing myself. The way he fought was so similar to an Eraser. Albeitly, better, but the basics were still there.

And when in the hell did the School's start manufacturing experiments with mammalian DNA? There were too many questions that needed answering.

"So again. What are we going to do with him?" Fang asked, crossing his arms. He glared at the boy.

"Until we find his friends, I guess we'll have to bring him with us." I said, surrendering to what I couldn't control. Well I couldn't just LEAVE him here, could I? I'm not that cold hearted. Fang, however, was.

"No way." he said firmly. I just stared at him. Did he really just say that?

"Why not?" Nudge asked. She was scratching the boy between his wolf ears, and in his uncoscious state, the boy was growling happily from it.

"I already let you keep one pet..." Fang said, shaking his head and jerking his thumb at Total, "Like hell am I going to let you keep a bigger one."

There was absolute silence. Like totally, dead silence. Not even the trees were moving. It was so silent, I could almost hear my own heartbeat. If it wasn't for Total giving a stream of complaints at Fang.

"Excuse me?" I asked, incredulously. "You let us keep Total?" Was I really just hearing this? Before I could come back, or give him a good smack across the kisser ( cause you know he deserved it. I mean, how many times have I saved his rear?), Gazzy spoke up.

"You guys, I think he's awake..."

* * *

Let me tell you. Dying: Not so much fun. When I saw angels, I was like 'YES! There is a Heaven!'. And then darkness. Well, frick. I guess all dogs don't go to heaven.

And then, to top it off, I wake up with someone pulling on my ears. Its official. I'm in hell. What's next, a bone? A bowl of dog food? Fetch? Oh god, somebody please kill me.

Oh wait, I'm dead already.

_"I am ready to meet my maker, but whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." _I muttered to myself. One of my favorite quotes by Winston Churchill.

"You guys, I think he's awake..."

I opened my eyes, and saw the kid who was yanking on my only good set of ears.

"Please... please get off..." I whispered, painfully. My arm hurt so badly. The kid came into focus. He was young. Just about the same age as my Willow.

"Hey there, you're okay now." another said. A tall, thing, pale looking kid, with dull eyes. "Max! Max get over there!" the boy shouted. The one I presumed to be Max, a tall, fit boy with dark hair pulled himself away from a girl and came over to me. He grabbed me by the shirt, and pressed me against the tree.

"Who are you?" he asked. I couldn't breathe.

"F-F-Fang..." I managed to rasp out. A look of surprise crossed his face.

"How do you know my name?"

My head swam. Must've broken a rob too, and this idiot was pressing on it.

"M-my name..." I rasped. "F-Fang... A-Aron Fang..."

"Fang, that's enough!" the girl said, getting him off of me. I collapsed, panting.

"Woah, they have the same names?" the one lean kid asked.

"It is my surname..." I managed to say. I cleared my throat. "Fang. Aron Fang. _My name is more important than myself_." I said to the girl.

A quote by Pierre Cardin.

_Alright, the cat is out of the bag. THIS is my power. I, the amazing stupendous and amazing Aron Fang... am a walking talking library. I know, I know, it stupid! I didn't ask for this power, you know! I would've been happy with something like... laser beams, or flying... but NOOOOO lets just make it so I can recite 'The Raven' by Edgar Allen Poe... backwards..._

_The thing that I hate so much about it is that I really don't have all that much control. I mean, I can 'research' stuff when I want, but sometimes stuff will just come out of my mouth for now reasons. But seriously, how was I suppose to know Fang was this guy's first name? I chose it as a surname. Seriously, what the heck was I suppose to call myself? Aron Smith? Jones? I'm a wolf, dammit! The 'Ancient Mariner' would not have taken so well if it had been called 'The Old Sailor'._ _That is is a quote from Samuel Butler- ARGH!!! See what I mean!_

_"_I'm Max... Maximum Ride..." the girl said, helping me up.

"Nice to meet you..." I said automatically before something clicked into my head. Maximum... Ride?

My jaw drop.

"Not THE Maximum Ride? Prototype number #12 of the Itex Genetic Program?" I asked, bringing up her file in my minds eye. I knew almost everything the school did on her. Almost is the keyword. "You were the first to escape..." I said, with a grin.

"Uh... yeah, I guess that's me..." she said, kinda awkwardly.

She was like... a firebrand leader in my eyes. A Robin Hood figure. The type of outlaw in which the whole world is gunning after, but nobody can catch. I used to tell Storm and Willow about her in their bed time stories. To me, she was just a story. Prototype #12. Uncatchable, unmerciful, and unbeatable. And here she was in person.

But a thought crossed my mind that wiped the grin off the face.

"Let me see your wings..." I said calmly.

"Max, we shouldn't-" Fang began, but Max shot a look at him. I felt a probe of something touch my mind. It was.... innocent... and childish... but just creepy. My heart stopped beating for a second, as I concentrated an image of Ceara in my mind. I had a fair amount of telepathy training from Kata. I've had run in with psychic experiments before.

None of these guys could read minds. That's what their files said. All but one. I looked for her, and saw her hiding out of sight behind Max. A cute little girl with blond hair and innocent looking eyes. The Angel experiment...

I reluctantly let down my defenses.

"_Its all right. I'm one of the good wolves."_ I thought to her. _"Take what you need, but jsut be careful where you tred. Some of this is off limits..._"

I felt the mental probe somewhat enter.

"Wings... please.." I asked. Max unfolded her brown wings from her back, and I sighed as the others did too. "So you're the real deal... Maximum Ride and the Flock..." I said, with a weak smile. I was... disappointed. To say the least. She didn't seem how I imagined her. I could tell she as strong, fought well, and had her fair share of fights just by looking at her. But... she was too human... She didn't look all but invincible. She looked just a nervous, mortal, unsure, and uncertain of the future as I was. Hell, it was like looking into a mirror. Alright, well... a mirror that portrayed an incredibly good looking, female, avian experiment.

_"In heaven, an angel is nobody in particular, _I guess..." I told myself. George Shaw.

"Max, he thinks your an incredibly good looking, female, avian experiment." Angel said. Max's face grew red, almost the same time as mine. _WHAT THE HELL!?_

* * *

_WHAT THE HELL?!_ I thought to myself. Aron's face grew red at the same time as mine.

"Somebody likes Max...." Gazzy teased. Aron put his hands up defensively.

"Woah woah, its not like that." he said, giving a toothy grin. "I have kids for crying outloud..."

"Your daughter is cute." Angel said.

"Wait, you have kids?" I asked, my eyes almost bugging out. Aron seemed just about my age, if not a bit younger. Was he THAT irresponsible?

"Yeah, three." he said, reaching into back pocket. He pulled out a folded up photograph, and showed it to me. A young boy with black feline ears was sitting next to a very human looking girl with wet hair. The girl was cradling a young baby with brown wolf ears and a tail.

"Isn't Ceara just the cutest? She's the baby. She'll be six months this Friday." he said, grinning. Suddenly, I snickered. The snickered turned out into a full blown laugh, that soon spread to the rest of the Flock. He stared at us, strangely.

"What? Am I missing something?" he asked, confused.

"Y-your tail!" Nudge said giggling. Aron blinked.

"What?"

"Its wagging." Fang said with a smirk. I watched as Aron took on a new shade of red as he clapped his behind, taking hold of his tail, which was, indeed, wagging back and forth.

"Why, why must I humiliate myself so often?" he asked himself. He looked at the Flock almost pleadingly.

"I'm a canine. Its what we do..." he said, blushing. I couldn't help but shake my head, smiling. Okay, unless this was an incredibly elaborate hoax by the School (still a 10% chance in my mind, folks), then the chances of this guy being anything but harmless was incredibly slim.

"This is Angel..." I said, placing my hands on her shoulder. "Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and-"

"Fang, right?" Aron said, glancing warily at him. Fang blew a strand of hair out of his eyes. "My friends and I tune into your blog now and then. Your spelling is atrocious by the way. Ever hear of Spell Check?" Aron teased. I chuckled, rolling my eyes as Fang grew slightly annoyed.

"Least I didn't get my girlfriend pregnant..."

I tensed up as I sensed a very Eraser like vibe coming from Aron that split second. No, it was worse than Eraser. Stronger. He shot a look at Fang, but never raised his voice.

"Little birdie chose to open his beak. How about you sing for us?" Aron said icily.

"Watch it, mutt-"

"Alright! Enough!" I shouted, getting between them. Crime, now I had TWO egos to contend with.

"Alright..." Aron said, relaxing. I was surprised he backed down so easily. He sniffed the air, as if he was trying to find something. "They're scent is gone..." he said. He gave me a sad look. "This entire place reeks of Eraser. I can't find their scent... normally I could track them... but now..."

"The kid is right..." Total said, trotting up beside him. He was doing the same. "I'm no blood-hound, but the scent is all mixed up."

"Couldn't you just follow the road?" Nudge asked. "Or phone them? Or maybe just come with us-" she said, before I shot a look at her way. I wasn't 100% sure of this Aron guy yet. And what did she mean 'come with us'? Like he was gonna sprout a pair of wings? Did she expect me and Fang to try and carry him? Oh that would work REAL well.

"Not even I can move that fast. You might, but you travel as the hawk does..." Aron said. He got on all fours, sniffing the asphalt ground. I waited patiently.

"Is this guy for real?" Fang muttered to Iggy.

"Hey, I get around by hearing." Iggy whispered, shrugging his shoulders, "He must get around by scent."

"Don't count me out on hearing either..." Aron called.

I turned to Angel, who was hugging her bear tightly.

"So what did you find about him?" I asked her. She looked at me for a moment, then back at Aron and Total, who were somehow now discussing something together.

* * *

"I'm telling you, the original story was far more exciting then the movie..." Aron muttered, still on all fours.

"I agree with you. But come-on, how many stories are there with talking dogs?" Total asked.

"Point taken. Though I hated the sequel to Balto. They should've just left it at that..." Aron said.

"Agreed."

* * *

"He seems alright..." Angel said. "A few things he wouldn't let me see... but he's alright. He really likes you, Max. But he's scared." Angel said quietly. She hugged Cecile, her bear, tighter for comfort.

"Whats he so scared of?" I asked. Heck, there was always the ever present fear of the School's finding us.

"He's always scared of this _thing_, and I shouldn't have looked that deep. I shouldn't have. He's afraid it'll catch up. The endless darkness... and the cold..." she said. Angel was scared now. She was terrified. I had never seen her like this before.

"What is it?" I urged her. She shook her head, frightened and wide-eyed. I took her by the shoulders, and made her look me in the eye.

"Tell me Angel. I need to know." I urged her. Her lips barely moved, barely uttered a sound, but I heard it.

_Moon Dance_

"How can that-" I began to ask, but Aron spoke up.

"I've found a scent."

* * *

Things were very solemn at the campfire that night. Nobody wanted to saying anything about the loss of Aron. Heck, nobody even truly believed that he was lost. They had all pulled themselves out of worse situations before, right?

"This is complete bullshit..." Storm muttered, staring into the flames. Willow gaped at hm.

"How can you say that!" she gasped. They had always been taught not to curse.

"Cause he's dead, that's why." Storm said, glaring at her. Hawkeye, who was leaning against a tree, closed his eyes.

"We all knew it was going to happen someday." the avian said. He rubbed the back of his neck. What Aron did was stupid. That dumb wolf was always rushing headlong into situations without thinking, even for one second. He had no plan, no method. Always based off of emotions, and never common sense. Hawkeye was going to miss him terribly.

"Yeah, but-" Willow began to say, but Sonata cut her off.

"We've lost comrades before," the she said simply. It wasn't the first time they had lost a close friend. Sonata had no love of Aron. They had butt heads many times before, and Sonata had come countless times to killing to stupid wolf. He provided very little to the group as a whole as far as combat went, and the amount of times she had saved his ass were many.

Storm was silent, staring into the flames. He didn't care. This was Aron for crying outloud. The goofy, caring and honest Aron. Aron had kept his promise. Aron had come back for him. And now he was gone.

"Lets just get to the safe-house. We can mourn for him later..." Kata said quietly, holding Ceara. "Whose going to take first watch?"

"I wouldn't mind." said a voice. Hawkeye rose to his feet, as someone stepped out of the shadows out the forest. Six more figures fell from the sky, like fallen angels shrouded in the blackness and landed next to him.

"Whats up guys?" Aron asked, smiling.

"Guess what? I made some new friends..." the wolf experiment said. He made a bow and gestured towards the figures behind him.

"May I introduced, the winged angel herself, Maximum Ride"

* * *


End file.
